Switch-throwing device.



No. 649,233. Patlted May 8, |900.

F. BURIE.

SWITCH THRUWING DEVICE.

Application med Feb. 15, 1909.)

(Nmlodel Arr! NrTED STATES- PATENT Frrcs.

FREDRiOK Bums, on BEDFORD, OHIO, AssIeNoR To I. n. Maenner-inv, or

- SAME PLACE.

SWITCH-THROWING oEvlcE;

srEcIFIcA'riolv forming part of Letters Patent No. 649,233, dated May c, 1900. Applaus@ neretmfy 15,1900. serrano. 5,278. (Numan.)

To ou@ whom it Amay concern; I.

Be it known that I, FREDRIOK BURIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bedford, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certainv new and useful Improvements in Switch-Throwing Devices; and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to ro which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to switch-throwing devices for railway-cars, and especially of the kind of cars in which a motorman or engineer is employed and has his position at the front of the car.

Hitherto, so far as I am aware, there have been no really practical means either made or introduced whereby a rail-switch could be thrown by the engineer from his post in the car without stopping the car. On the contrai-y, he has always'been obliged to stop the car and quit his post, either to go entirely out of the car to throw the switch or to reach down with a long rod or bar provided for that pur` 2 5 pose. These have been the ways practiced, notwithstanding many attempts of inventors to improve thereon and all of which, so far as I ain aware, have proved impracticable. All this of course required delay, because of the necessity for stopping the car, and took time after the car was stopped to throw the switch, as well as to get back to the motor and get the car started. Almost invariably also this has had to be done at busy centers where the line was crowded with cars and every Inoment of pause was expensive and kept back other cars as well. I have therefore conceived the idea of effecting the throwing of the switch to either side while the car is in movement and from the post of duty, so that now the motorman need not even turn off the current or power,and while he is controlling the powerswitch with one hand he can control the switchthrowing mechanism with the other and' go right on his way without any pause whatever. This mechanism is further provided with means for raising it upvout of working position above the track when not required, all as hereinafter fully described, and particu- 5o larly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawin gs,Figure 1 is a vertical elevation, partly*l in vsectiomof the front'part of a car, presumably an electricmotor car, although it may be any otherkind, and which shows myimproved switching, controlling, or throwing mechanism in full lines as it appears when raised and in dotted lines 'as it appears when lowered and at work. Normally it is in the raised position. Fig. 2 is plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 6c with the body of the car removed. Fig. 3* is a front elevation', partly in section, of the parts shown inFigs. l and2 and corresponding substantially to lines 3 3, Fig. l. Eig. iis an enlarged perspective elevation of the upperlpart of the tube or stand in which the controllingrod for my improved vmechanism is located and adjustable. Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views or portions of a track and of a switch therein, with the switching mechanism shown in op- 7o posite positions in respect to the switch, so

as to throw it in one direction in Fig. 5 and in the opposite direction inFig. 6.

A represents the bottom of a car-body supported on springs, as usual, and in this case shows spring B on the truck C. It is immaterial to this invention how the body and the truck are connected, and the switch-throwing device is located on the truck as near to the wheel D as practicable and in front there- 8o of and supported in this instance on crossbars VF in a frame F of its own and fashioned substantially as shown in Fig. l. y Anear position to lthe wheel is preferred for sundry reasons, notably as it gets near the axle of the car'where there Yisle'ast rocking movement. Any suitable'frame E, `suitably attached to the truck, may be used, as the purpose of 'y said frame is to provide a guide and support for the switch shaft or rod E, .which 9o extends downy through the said framevF and is wound by spring G within the frame resting on a collar g on the shaft E and against the frame F at its upper portion. The said spring is a spiral coil of sufcient strength and elasticity to promptly throw the shaft VE and its switch-foot 2 down upon the rail when the said shaft is released for that purpose. This so-called foot 2 is circular in plan, with theshaft E in its center, so that when ioo dropped it will ride on the head of the rail at either side or slide thereon, but not go any lower. It is also shown here as curved upward somewhat about its edge to clear joints or small obstructions on the surface of the rail. Rigid with the said foot and the shaft E is the switch-throwing point 3, arranged to run beneath the foot 2 and is of a wedge shape and'fairly sharp at its point, so as to certainly .run in behind the switch N and throw it, how- 'in shown, consisting, primarily, of a handle rod or shaft H, supported vertically at the front of the carin a convenient position in the tubular stand J, the upper portion of which is shown most plainly in Fig. 4. .A suitable handle 4 is affixed to the said shaft H, and normally it is adapted to rest in the head of the said tube J, as seen in Fig. 4, wherein there is a right-angled slot 5, in the lower shoulder of which the said handle 4 is locked when the switch-foot 2 is raised out of use 3 'but the instant that the said handle 4 is thrown out of engagement with the shoulder 6 and enters the vertical portion of slot 5 the spring G Vcomes into action and forcibly throws the foot 2 down into switching position, while the handle 4 is accordingly thrown up to the top of the stand or hub J, where it may be earried onto either side of the slot 5 and. locked temporarily. As this occurs the foot 2 necessarily rides onthe adjacent head of the rail, and the switch-point is in corresponding position at the side of said head to throw the switch.

The shaft H has two cross-arms 7 and the shaft E two corresponding arms 8, and two rigid links or rods 9 connect said sets of arms, as plainly shown in Fig. 2. This makes a direct and positive connection between the shaft H and shaft E, so as to rotate shaft E in either direction, as maybe required, to throw the switch and to hold the switch-throwing point 3 to whatsoever side it may have been carried. On the top of stand J are two stops 9 and l0 for the handle 4, Fig. 4, and the motorman will know onto which side of the said standard to throw the handle 4 when he comes to a switch, the direction being governed by the direction he wishes to travel. Thus if he wishes to throw the switch to the right in Fig. 5 and travel to the left 11e makes a corresponding movement of the handle 4 on the top of the standard 7, and in like manner when he wishes to turn to the right or to go straight ahead, as may occur in Fig. 6, he throws the handle the other way against the other stop.

Now it is im portant that the foregoing mcchanism should be free to accommodate itself first to the position of the other parts ordinarily provided for on the car and to the vibrations or tiltings of the car as it runs,-which on some roads and on some cars are very considerable.- To these ends the connectingl'ods 9 are freely pivoted to the arms 7 and 8 and are further supported on a fulerum or supporting-stirrup L, which is aiiixed to the bottom of the car-body. This stirrup L forms the pivot also for said rods, so that when the handle-shaft H is depressed to raise the foot 2 against the downward pressure of spring G the rods bear on the stirrup L as a fulcrum and they ride thereonnormally. On the other hand, when the handle H is released and the spring G is permitted to come into action the said stirrup forms a fulcrum from theoppo site end, andthe handle II is thrown up by the action of spring G and the foot 2 immediately takes its place on the rail M and the switch-point is ready to engage and throw the switch end. The drop of switch-foot 2 is the work of only an instant, and it can be raised immediately on passing the switch. Hence its depression need never exceed a few moments.

A single link or rod 9 might answer to operatively connect the two shafts E and H; but by having two I get especially an even balance on both sides for shaft E when it is to be raised, which prevents binding in its bear; lngs.

By the foregoing construction the rocking or tilting of the car is provided for and it does not affect the switching mechanism, whether it be up or down. If down, there is ample room for play between the lower portion of the frame F' and the shoe 2, so that the truck may rock and tilt; but the spring Gwill hold the said foot and the point 3 faith` fully down to work.

1. A switch-controlling device for use on street-cars comprising a rotatable shaft havinga switching-pointon its lower end, aspring connected with said shaft to normally press it downward, tilting-rods connected with the top of said shaft and means to raise and lower the opposite ends of said rods together,- substantially as described.

2. A switch-controlling device having a por; tion to run on the head of a rail and a point to run at the side of the rail and turn the switch, a vertically-arranged rotatable shaft carrying said parts and supported on the cartruck, in combination with a set of actuatingrods oppositely connected to the top of said shaft, a pivot-support for said rods on the carbody, and a handled shaft connected with the front ends of said rods and means to lock said shaft up and down,substantially as described.

3. The car-body and the truck-frame, a switclrthrowing shaft on said frame having opposite arms at its top and a downwardlypressing spring about said shaft, in combina- Iig alleges s tion with a vertical hand-controlled shaft on the car-body having opposite arms on its lower end, a pair of links connecting said arms with the arms on the switch-shaft and a pivot-support for said links between their ends, substantially as described.

4. The car-truck and a switch throwing shaft and a support on said truck in which said shaft is movable vertically and rotatably, a downwardly-pressing spring for said shaft, and means to raise and to rotate said shaft, substantially as described.

5. The rotatable and vertically movable switch-throwing shaft and the frame in which it is supported, a spiral spring about the shaft arrangedto press the shaft downward, oppositely-p'laced arms on the shaft and rods connected with said arms, and a rest for said rods between its ends on which the rods are arranged to tilt, substantially as described.

6. In a switch-throwing mechanism for cars, the switch-throwing shaft supported to be raised and lowered in combination with a handled shaft for the car and a guide therefor in which it has an up-and-down movement and constructed to hold said shaft in raised position, rigid connections between said handled shaft and said switch-shaft and a support on which said connections are pivoted, substantially as described.

Witness my hand to the foregoing specification this Sth day of February, 1900.

FREDRICK BURIE. Witnesses:

H. T. FISHER, R. B. MOSER. 

